Method for preparing compound semiconductor substrate

ABSTRACT

Provided is a method for preparing a compound semiconductor substrate. The method includes coating a plurality of spherical balls on a substrate, growing a compound semiconductor epitaxial layer on the substrate coated with the spherical balls while allowing voids to be formed under the spherical balls, and cooling the substrate on which the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer is grown so that the substrate and the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer are self-separated along the voids. The spherical ball treatment can reduce dislocation generations. In addition, because the substrate and the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer are separated through the self-separation, there is no need for laser lift-off process.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.2007-0107090 filed on Oct. 24, 2007 and all the benefits accruingtherefrom under 35 U.S.C. §119, the contents of which are incorporatedby reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a compound semiconductor layer formedof gallium nitride (GaN) or a nitride of gallium and other metal, and amethod for forming the compound semiconductor layer. The presentdisclosure also relates to a method for preparing a substrate used inmanufacturing of electronic or photo-electronic devices including thecompound semiconductor layer. The present disclosure pertains to atechnical field for forming a high quality compound semiconductor layeron a substrate, and more particularly, to a technical field forpreparing a free standing compound semiconductor substrate by separatingthe substrate and the compound semiconductor layer.

Semiconductor materials based on nitrides of Group III elements or GroupV elements already hold important positions in electronic andphoto-electronic fields, which will be important more and more. In fact,the nitride based semiconductor materials may be used in a wide range offields from laser diodes (LD) to transistors operating at high frequencyand high temperature. The nitride based semiconductor materials may alsobe used in ultraviolet photo-detectors, surface acoustic wave detectorsand light emitting diodes.

For example, although gallium nitride is widely known for its usefulnessin blue light emitting diodes and high frequency and high temperaturetransistors, it is also being extensively researched for use inmicroelectronic devices. As used herein, gallium nitride includesgallium nitride alloys such as aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN), indiumgallium nitride (InGaN) and aluminum indium gallium nitride (AlInGaN).

To grow a gallium nitride layer of low defect density is important inmanufacturing gallium nitride microelectronic devices. A substrate onwhich gallium nitride is grown is known as one cause of the defect.However, it is difficult to prepare a gallium nitride substrate or asubstrate for growing gallium nitride without defects. Typical methodssuch as Czochralski method where the crystal is grown from a melt cannotbe used in producing a gallium nitride single crystal for the substratebecause gallium nitride is difficult to melt. Surely, gallium nitridecan be molten under ultrahigh pressure, however, this is currentlyunavailable for commercial use due to the low productivity.

Accordingly, in such devices, the most frequently used for growinggallium nitride layer are heterogeneous substrates such as a sapphiresubstrate, a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate and a silicon substrate.However, because of lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficientdifference between such substrate materials and gallium nitride, a largenumber of dislocations may be produced in the gallium nitride layergrown on the substrate, causing crack and bending of the gallium nitridelayer. Therefore, a variety of buffer layers are often formed on thesubstrate before growing the gallium nitride layer thereon, or anepitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) method are used to reduce thedislocation generation.

In a typical ELO method, a stripe-shaped silicon dioxide (SiO₂) mask isused to reduce stress caused by the lattice mismatch and the thermalexpansion coefficient difference between the substrate and the galliumnitride layer. The typical ELO method will be described below withreference to FIG. 1, which is a cross-sectional view of the substrate onwhich the gallium nitride layer is grown according to the typical ELOmethod.

In the typical ELO method, the gallium nitride layer 2 is grown on thesubstrate 1 in a furnace, and then the substrate 1 is taken out of thefurnace. The substrate is placed in a deposition apparatus so thatsilicon dioxide (SiO₂) layer is deposited on the gallium nitride layer,and then the substrate 1 is taken out of the deposition apparatus. Thesilicon dioxide layer is patterned using a photolithography technique toform a silicon dioxide mask 3 on the gallium nitride layer, and then thesubstrate 1 is placed again in the furnace so that an ELO galliumnitride layer 4 is grown on the gallium nitride layer 2.

A portion of the ELO gallium nitride layer 4 that is laterally grownover the silicon dioxide mask 3 has relatively high quality compared tothe portion that is vertically grown. This is because defects such asdislocations cannot propagate through the laterally grown portion.Therefore, by forming a device in the portion of the ELO gallium nitridelayer 4 that is laterally grown over the silicon dioxide mask 3, it ispossible to obtain an excellent property.

However, the ELO method requires the above described complex processsuch as an additional external process for forming the silicon dioxidemask, increasing process time and process cost. In addition, recently,as a plurality of silicon dioxide masks are used to improve and enlargethe function of the ELO, the number of the processes for forming thesilicon dioxide mask and growing the gallium nitride layer is alsoincreased correspondingly. Consequently, this may result in increasedprocess cost, process complexity, time loss and economical loss, andthus result in decreased process yield.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-0078208 discloses, insteadof the ELO method, a method for preparing a gallium nitride substrate byforming grooves for reducing contact area between a sapphire substrateand a gallium nitride layer. According to the method, gallium nitrideepitaxial layers are grown on an upper surface and a lower surface ofthe sapphire substrate, respectively. In specific, a first galliumnitride epitaxial layer is grown on the upper surface of the sapphiresubstrate in a furnace. The sapphire substrate is taken out of thefurnace, turned upside down, and then placed in the furnace again sothat a second gallium nitride epitaxial layer is grown on the othersurface, i.e., the lower surface of the sapphire substrate. Next, a maskpattering is performed on the lower surface using a photolithographyprocess, and the second gallium nitride epitaxial layer is etched toform a plurality of grooves. Thereafter, a laser beam is applied theretoto etch the portion of the first gallium nitride epitaxial layercorresponding to the portion of the plurality of grooves. As a result,the void-like grooves are formed on the upper surface of the sapphire.Using these grooves, a third gallium nitride epitaxial layer is grown.

According to the above described method, the grooves prevent contact ofthe sapphire substrate and the gallium nitride layer for growing thethird gallium nitride epitaxial layer. As such, it is possible to reducedislocation generations in the gallium nitride layer over the grooves,and reduce crack and bending caused by the thermal expansion coefficientdifference as temperature is decreased from a growth temperature to theroom temperature. However, the method requires additional processes suchas growing the gallium nitride layers on the upper surface and the lowersurface of the sapphire substrate, respectively, performing the maskpatterning on the gallium nitride layers, and applying the laser beam toform the grooves on the upper surface of the sapphire substrate. Thismay result in increased process time and process cost.

In addition, when the sapphire substrate is removed after growing thegallium nitride epitaxial layer on the sapphire substrate to use thegallium nitride epitaxial layer as a free standing gallium nitridesubstrate, the separation of the sapphire substrate from the galliumnitride epitaxial layer needs an additional process such as a laserlift-off. This may also increase the process cost, and decrease theprocess yield because heat applied to separate the sapphire substratefrom the gallium nitride epitaxial layer may cause defects such as crackand bending in the gallium nitride epitaxial layer. If the substrate isformed of silicon, it may be easily removed by a polishing or a chemicaletching. However, the silicon substrate also has a limitation that it isdifficult to form a high quality gallium nitride epitaxial layerthereon.

As described above, although the mask patterning process formanufacturing the gallium nitride substrate of good quality is effectivein reducing dislocations, it may increase process time and process cost.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a simpler and more economical method forpreparing a compound semiconductor substrate which is equally or moreeffective than a typical mask patterning process in reducingdislocations.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a method for preparing a compoundsemiconductor substrate includes coating a plurality of spherical ballson a substrate, growing a compound semiconductor epitaxial layer on thesubstrate coated with the spherical balls while allowing voids to beformed under the spherical balls, and cooling the substrate on which thecompound semiconductor epitaxial layer is grown so that the substrateand the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer are self-separated alongthe voids.

The method may further include removing the spherical balls after thecooling of the substrate.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a method for preparing acompound semiconductor substrate includes coating a plurality ofspherical balls on a substrate, growing a first compound semiconductorepitaxial layer to a thickness smaller than sizes of the spherical ballson the substrate coated with the spherical balls, forming a plurality ofvoids by removing the spherical balls from the substrate on which thefirst compound semiconductor epitaxial layer is grown, growing a secondcompound semiconductor epitaxial layer on the first compoundsemiconductor epitaxial layer with the voids, and cooling the substrateon which the first and second compound semiconductor epitaxial layersare grown so that the first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer andthe second compound semiconductor epitaxial layer are self-separatedalong the voids.

The spherical balls may be silica balls, sapphire balls, zirconia ballsor yttria-zirconia balls. The compound semiconductor may include galliumnitride (GaN), aluminum nitride (AlN), indium nitride (InN), or acombination (Ga_(1-x)Al_(1-y)In_(1-z)N, where 0≦x, y, z≦1) thereof. Thesubstrate may be formed of sapphire (Al₂O₃), silicon carbide (SiC), orsilicon (Si).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments can be understood in more detail from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a substrate on which a galliumnitride layer is grown according to the typical ELO method;

FIGS. 2A through 5 illustrate a method for preparing a compoundsemiconductor substrate according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of a sample onwhich a spherical ball coating is performed twice; and

FIGS. 7A through 10 illustrate a method for preparing a compoundsemiconductor substrate according to another exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, specific embodiments will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may,however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed aslimited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodimentsare provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled inthe art. In the figures, the shapes of elements are exaggerated forclarity of illustration, and like reference numerals refer to likeelements throughout. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat when an element such as a layer is referred to as being ‘on/under’other element herein, it may be directly on/under other element, and oneor more intervening elements may also be present.

Embodiments are mainly focused on a spherical ball treatment on asubstrate. The spherical ball treatment is equally or more effectivethan typical mask patterning process in reducing dislocations. Inaddition, the spherical balls may generate voids between a substrate anda compound semiconductor epitaxial layer so that the substrate and thecompound semiconductor epitaxial layer are self-separated along thevoids.

Embodiments

FIGS. 2A through 5 illustrate a method for preparing a compoundsemiconductor substrate according to an exemplary embodiment. FIGS. 2Aand 3 through 5 are cross-sectional views and FIG. 2B is a plan view.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a plurality of spherical balls 20 arecoated on a substrate 10.

The substrate 10 may be formed of sapphire, silicon carbide (SiC),silicon, or any other typical semiconductor material suitable forgrowing a compound semiconductor epitaxial layer. For example, thesubstrate 10 may be formed of a gallium arsenide (GaAs) single crystal,a spinel single crystal, an indium phosphide (InP) single crystal, asilicon carbide (SiC) single crystal, or a gallium nitride (GaN) singlecrystal. In addition, a buffer layer of gallium nitride (GaN) may beformed on such single crystals. Because all the materials have bothstrengths and weaknesses, respectively, the material for the substratecan be appropriately selected according to the requirements. Forexample, when a large area is required, the substrate may be formed ofsilicon.

The spherical balls 20 may be formed of a metal oxide, such as silica(SiO₂), sapphire (Al₂O₃), zirconia (ZrO₂) and yttria-zirconia(Y₂O₃—ZrO₂). Preferably, the spherical balls 20 may be formed of amaterial based on a stable oxide that does not react with the substrate10 and a compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 even at a growthtemperature of a compound semiconductor epitaxial layer, which will bedescribed later. The spherical balls 20 may be formed of a variety ofmaterials, and may also be obtained commercially. The spherical balls 20may have a wide range of size from nanometers to tens of micrometers. Inview of size and easiness of manufacturing and removing, the sphericalballs are preferably formed of silica. A method for producing the silicaballs is described in Korean Patent Application No. 2005-0019605, filedMar. 9, 2005.

The spherical balls 20 may be coated on the substrate 10 using a simplemethod such as dropping, dip coating and spin coating, after beingdispersed in a suitable solvent. If necessary, drying may be performedto evaporate the solvent. The density of the spherical balls on thesubstrate 10 may be controlled using the loading density of thespherical balls in the solvent, the thickness of the coating, the numberof coatings, and the like.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the substrate 10 coated with the sphericalballs 20 is placed in a furnace so that the compound semiconductorepitaxial layer 30 is grown on the substrate 10. The compoundsemiconductor epitaxial layer 30 is grown to a thickness greater thanthe size of the spherical balls 20. That is, the compound semiconductorepitaxial layer 30 is grown to cover the spherical balls 20 completely.The compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 is grown to a thicknessadequate for the final compound semiconductor substrate.

The compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 may be grown usingmetal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), molecular beam epitaxy(MBE), or hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HYPE). The compound semiconductorepitaxial layer 30 may be formed of gallium nitride (GaN), aluminumnitride (AlN), indium nitride (InN), or a combination(Ga_(1-x)Al_(1-y)In_(1-z)N, where 0≦x, y, z≦1) thereof. That is, thecompound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 may be formed of a galliumnitride alloy such as aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN), indium galliumnitride (InGaN) and aluminum indium gallium nitride (AlInGaN).

For example, for growing a gallium nitride epitaxial layer using

MOCVD, a metal organic (MO) source including gallium (Ga), such astrimethyl gallium (TMGa), triethyl gallium (TEGa) and gallium chloride(GaCl₃), and a nitrogen-containing gas, such as nitrogen (N₂), ammonia(NH₃) and tertiary butyl amine (N(C₄H₉)H₂) may be applied to the surfaceof the substrate 10. For growing a gallium nitride epitaxial layer usingHYPE, a vessel containing gallium is placed in the furnace and thenheated by a heater around the vessel to melt the gallium. The galliummelt is reacted with hydrogen chloride (HCl) to produce gallium chloride(GaCl) gas. The gallium chloride (GaCl) gas is reacted with ammonia(NH₃) to form gallium nitride.

The spherical balls 20 function as the typical mask pattern because theydo not cover the whole surface of the substrate 10. That is, nucleationand growth of portions of the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30begin to occur on the exposed upper surface of the substrate 10.Thereafter, due to the epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO), the lateralgrowth fronts coalesce with each other over the spherical balls 20, andthen, the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 further extendsupwardly. As a result, because of the spherical balls 20, dislocationsare bent to thereby improve optical properties and crystallographicproperties of the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30. Inaddition, voids 35 are formed under the spherical balls 20.

The compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 is grown at a hightemperature of approximately 1,000° C. In order to take the substrate 10on which the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 are grown out ofthe furnace, the substrate 10 is inevitably cooled down to a lowertemperature, e.g. to a room temperature. During the cooling, stress isconcentrated at the voids to form brittle interfaces. As a result, thesubstrate 10 and the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 can beeasily separated along the voids 35. Even though they are not completelyseparated just after the cooling, they are in a state to be easilyseparated by only a very small mechanical force, e.g., by a worker. Asdescribed above, because the. substrate 10 and the compoundsemiconductor epitaxial layer 30 can be separated by theself-separation, an additional laser lift-off process is not required.

Here, the spherical balls 20 may be separated not only from the compoundsemiconductor epitaxial layer 30 but also from the substrate 10.However, it is also possible that some of the spherical balls 20 remainon the substrate 10 and the others remain on the compound semiconductorepitaxial layer 30. In addition, it is also possible that all thespherical balls 20 remain on the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer30. Therefore, in the case where the compound semiconductor epitaxiallayer 30 itself is used as a compound semiconductor substrate, there maybe a need for removing the spherical balls 20 remaining on the compoundsemiconductor epitaxial layer 30. The spherical balls 30 can be easilyseparated or removed using a mechanical method such as ultrasoniccleaning and megasonic cleaning, or a chemical etching because they arenot strongly adhere thereto. Specifically, if the spherical balls aremade of silica, they can be chemically etched out easily by immersingthe compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 in a diluent of HF. Thesurface of the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 is uneven afterremoving the spherical balls 20. Accordingly, an appropriate polishingmay be performed to prepare the final compound semiconductor substrate30′ as shown in FIG. 5. For example, a gallium nitride substrate can beobtained when gallium nitride is grown as the compound semiconductorepitaxial layer 30, and an aluminum nitride substrate can be obtainedwhen aluminum nitride is grown as the compound semiconductor epitaxiallayer 30.

As described above, the simple spherical ball treatment can reduce theprocess time and the process cost as compared to the typical maskpatterning process. At the same time, the simple spherical balltreatment can reduce internal generation of linear dislocations duringthe gallium nitride growth. Furthermore, the separate process forseparating the gallium nitride from the substrate can be omitted.

The sequential processes of coating the spherical balls 20 and growingthe compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 may be performedrepeatedly to improve the quality of the compound semiconductorepitaxial layer 30. That is, the coating of the spherical balls 20 andthe growing of the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 may beperformed once more on the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 30 ofFIG. 3. The multiple layers of the spherical balls 20 can make thedislocations be bent primarily and secondarily in the compoundsemiconductor epitaxial layer 30.

FIG. 6 is a transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of a sample onwhich the spherical ball coating is performed twice. That is, the sampleis obtained by coating silica balls 20 a on a sapphire substrate 10 a,growing a gallium nitride epitaxial layer 30 a, coating the silica balls20 a again on the gallium nitride epitaxial layer 30 a, and then growingthe gallium nitride layer 30 a further.

As shown in FIG. 6, voids 35 a are formed under the silica balls 20 a.Hence, dislocations 40 are bent by the spherical balls 20 a, and thesapphire substrate 10 a and the gallium nitride epitaxial layer 30 a arein a state to be easily separated along the voids 35 a.

FIGS. 7A through 10 illustrate a method for preparing a compoundsemiconductor substrate according to another exemplary embodiment. FIGS.7A, 8A, 9 and 10 are cross-sectional views, and FIGS. 7B and 8B arescanning electron microscope (SEM) images of upper surfaces of FIGS. 7Aand 8A, respectively.

As described above with reference to FIG. 2, a plurality of sphericalballs are coated on a substrate 10.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the substrate 10 is placed in afurnace so that a first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 50 isgrown on the substrate 10. The first compound semiconductor epitaxiallayer 50 is grown to a thickness smaller than the size of the sphericalballs 20. That is, the first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 50does not completely cover the spherical balls 20 to remove the sphericalballs 20 in a subsequent process.

Preferably, the first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 50 isformed of a chemically stable material, i.e., a material having acrystallographic property identical to or similar to that of a materialfor a second compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 60 which will begrown in a subsequent process. As such, crystallographic difference andthus a density of crystal defects can be minimized between the firstcompound semiconductor epitaxial layer 50 and the second compoundsemiconductor epitaxial layer 60. That is, the first compoundsemiconductor epitaxial layer 50 is formed of a material having alattice constant and a thermal expansion coefficient identical to orsimilar to those of a material for the second compound semiconductorepitaxial layer 60, so that the first compound semiconductor epitaxiallayer 50 functions as a buffer layer.

The first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 50 may be grown usingMOCVD, MBE, HVPE, or the like. The first compound semiconductorepitaxial layer 50 may be formed of gallium nitride (GaN), aluminumnitride (AlN), indium nitride (InN), or a combination(Ga_(1-x)Al_(1-y)In_(1-z)N, where 0≦x, y, z≦1) thereof.

Thereafter, the spherical balls 20 are removed from the substrate 10. Asdescribed above, the spherical balls 20 can be easily removed usingultrasonic cleaning, megasonic cleaning, or chemical etching. As shownin FIGS. 8A and 8B, nearly spherical voids 55 are formed where thespherical balls 20 are removed, to expose a portion of the upper surfaceof the substrate 10. As a result, the first compound semiconductorepitaxial layer 50 with the voids 55 remains on the substrate 10.

Referring to FIG. 9, the second compound semiconductor epitaxial layer60 is grown on the first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 50. Thesecond compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 60 may also be grown usingMOCVD, MBE, HVPE, or the like. The second compound semiconductorepitaxial layer 60 may be formed of gallium nitride (GaN), aluminumnitride (AlN), indium nitride (InN), or a combination(Ga_(1-x)Al_(1-y)In_(1-z)N, where 0≦x, y, z≦1) thereof. The secondcompound semiconductor epitaxial layer 60 has a suitable thickness tofunction as a final compound semiconductor substrate.

The second compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 60 grows on the firstcompound semiconductor epitaxial layer 50 to a desired thickness, and atthe same time, the lateral growth fronts coalesce with each other.Resultantly, the continuous second compound semiconductor epitaxiallayer 60 is formed on the first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer50 with a plurality of vacancies, i.e., the plurality of voids 55,therein.

The growth temperature of the second compound semiconductor epitaxiallayer 60 is approximately 1,000° C. In order to take the substrate 10 onwhich the second compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 60 are grown outof the furnace, the substrate 10 is inevitably cooled down to a lowertemperature. During the cooling, stress is concentrated at the voids 55to form brittle interfaces. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 10, thesecond compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 60 can be separated fromthe substrate 10 and the first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 50along the voids 55. Even though it is not completely separated justafter the cooling, it is in a state to be easily separated by only avery small mechanical force. As described above, by separating thesecond compound semiconductor epitaxial layer 60 through theself-separation, the compound semiconductor substrate can be obtained.

As described above, the spherical balls are coated on the substrate, andthe compound semiconductor epitaxial layer is grown thereon. Thespherical balls reduce the dislocation generations, increasing thequality of the grown compound semiconductor epitaxial layer. Whilecooling the compound semiconductor epitaxial layer from the growthtemperature, the voids under the spherical balls permit self-separationof the semiconductor epitaxial layer from the substrate. Accordingly,the compound semiconductor substrate of good quality can be preparedwithout the need of additional separation process such as laserlift-off. As a result, it is possible to reduce the process time and theprocess cost, and increase the process yield through the simple process,compared to the related art.

Although the method for preparing the compound semiconductor substratehas been described with reference to the specific embodiments, it is notlimited thereto. Therefore, it will be readily understood by thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be madethereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention defined by the appended claims. In the specification anddrawings, there have been set forth exemplary embodiments of theinvention which have been included by way of example and not by way oflimitation. The scope of the invention is set forth in the accompanyingclaims and includes all their equivalents and modifications.

1. A method for preparing a compound semiconductor substrate, the method comprising: coating a plurality of spherical balls on a substrate; growing a first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer to a thickness smaller than sizes of the spherical balls on the substrate coated with the spherical balls; forming a plurality of voids by removing the spherical balls from the substrate on which the first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer is grown; growing a second compound semiconductor epitaxial layer on the first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer with the voids; and cooling the substrate on which the first and second compound semiconductor epitaxial layers are grown, so that the first compound semiconductor epitaxial layer and the second compound semiconductor epitaxial layer are self-separated along the voids.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the spherical balls are silica balls, sapphire balls, zirconia balls or yttria-zirconia balls.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the spherical balls are silica balls, and removed by a chemical etching.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the compound semiconductor comprises gallium nitride (GaN), aluminum nitride (MN), indium nitride (InN), or a combination where (Ga_(1-x)Al_(1-y)In_(1-z)N, where 0≦x, y, z≦1) thereof.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is formed of sapphire (Al₂O₃), silicon carbide (SiC), or silicon (Si). 